domingo, 7 de febrero de 2016

Most learners of English as a foreign language would probably agree that the little verb get is one of the most difficult words in the language. Not only does it have several meanings by itself; it also combines with a number of particles to form phrasal verbs with idiomatic meanings. And, to make matters worse, many of these phrasal verbs thenmselves have multiple meanings.

For many learners, even when its meanings are learned, get tends to remain a part of their passive rather than their active vocabulary: whenever possible, the will use a synonym for it. This is especially true of the phrasal verbs. Experience has shown me that in most cases such substitution works prett well: the speaker's meaning is communicated. To the ear of the native speaker, however, wholesale avoidance of two-word verbs, and of get in its various meanings, results in stilted, unnatural-sounding speech.

The basic meanings of get as a single-word are:
- RECEIVE . ( Did you get a good grade on the exam?)
- WIN . (Mary got first place in the competition)
- OBTAIN . ( Add up the scores and see what you get)- ACQUIRE . (She got a new hat to wear to the party)- REACH . (. When will we get to Madrid?)- MAKE CONTACT WITH . ( I'll try to get my husband on the phone to ask him)- GO and BRING . ( Please get my coat when you go uptairs)- CATCH . ( My sister had a contagious disease, but I didn't get it)- BECOME . ( How did ou get sick?)- UNDERSTAND . ( I'm sorry, I didn't get our name)- INFLUENCE or PERSUADE . ( Do you think you can get him to do it?)- OWN . ( I've got 20 books on that subject)- CAUSE TO BE . ( Why don't you get your hair cut?)- CAUSE TO ARRIVE . ( Can you get him here by three o'clock?)- TAKE AWAY . ( Get that dog out of here!)- BE SENTENCED . ( The criminal got 10 years in prison for stealing the car)- PREPARE . (I'll get breakfast for you).- TAKE REVENGE ON . (Slang: I'll get you for that!)In our following chapter we will list the most common phrasal verbs containingget.